‘‘Now, you know, I could refuse to answer that, since you didn’t summon me and all, but Ash gets annoyed when I display what she calls bad manners, so I’m going to play nice. Name’s Jim. Effrijim, really, but no one calls me that except Aisling when she’s really pissy. What’s your name?’’

‘‘That’s not pertinent,’’ I said firmly, thinking as fast as I could. If there was a demon here, someone must have sent it . . . but for what purpose? And who had set the demon to watch the gate? Dr. Kostich? That didn’t make any sense—mages could technically summon demons, but I’d never heard of one doing so, not while they had arcane abilities at their fingertips to achieve whatever they wanted. ‘‘Who sent you, Effrijim?’’

‘‘No one sent me. I’m just doing my walkies,’’ the demon answered, sniffing my legs again. I stepped back, pulling the shadows tighter around me. I knew it would do little good—experienced demons could sometimes sense even those who shadow walked—but it made me feel less open to prying eyes.

‘‘Your . . . walkies?’’

‘‘Yeah, you know, walkies. Constitutional. Pinchin’ a loaf,’’ it said with a particularly annoying chuckle.

I opened my mouth to point out . . . well, I didn’t know what to point out, so many thoughts were tumbling through my mind. Instead I shook my head at my own folly, and with a firm look, asked the demon who its master was.

‘‘Aisling. She’s inside, if you want to have a chat with her, although she’s a bit cranky because Drake made her come home early from the theater,’’ the demon answered, nodding toward the house. I spun around, alarm skittering down my back at the sight of the house Cyrene had crept through—now aglow with lights.

‘‘Agathos daimon,’’ I swore under my breath, reaching for the switch on the radio pack strapped to my belt. ‘‘Psst! Stop swooning over the fish pond and get over here. Carefully! The people who rented the house are here, and . . . and . . . oh, just get over here.’’

‘‘What? Goddess! I’ll be right there,’’ her breathy voice whispered in my ear.

‘‘I didn’t realize your master had taken over the house yet,’’ I told the demon named Jim. ‘‘I mean her no harm, and I’ll leave in a minute, I swear.’’

‘‘I’m here, I’m here,’’ Cyrene said as she hurried out of the shadowed edge of the lawn. ‘‘What happened? I thought you said the people wouldn’t come this late at night. Oh! A doggy!’’

Jim turned its head and winked at her. ‘‘Hiya, babycakes.’’

Cyrene clapped her hands in delight. ‘‘A demon! May, where did you find a demon? Can we keep it? I’ve always wanted a demon of my own.’’